Astro Boy 2: Core Collision
by AstroxMarionette
Summary: After defeating the Peacekeeper and the alien, Astro finds Toby in the giant robot monster's remains, but he also finds out he can save Toby. After Toby comes back, everything looks up for Astro, until he meets a girl that will change his life forever...
1. 1 Toby's Return

It has been a full day after the Peacekeeper and Alien fiasco, and Astro is set out to find any survivors beside ex President Stone that have been absorbed by the giant mess that used to be a robot monster. After about 30 minutes of searching, Astro found a boy, a young teenage boy about the age of 13. He examined the lifeless boy a bit closer and gasped when he realized it was none other than Toby. Astro picked up his cell phone and called his father Dr. Tenma.

As soon as Tenma heard the news about his son, he immediately rushed to his limo and Orrin drove him to where Astro was. Tenma opened the door and stepped out as fast as he could once he got to Toby. He picked up the lifeless child in his arms and his eyes began to tear up. Astro looked up at Tenma and sighed.

Astro:"What are we going to do with Toby?"

Tenma:"I-I don't kno- wait! I know exactly what I am going to do!"

Tenma carried Toby back to the limo and Astro followed them both to the hovering limo. As soon as the car started hovering, it headed toward the lab where the Ministry of Science is. Astro followed Tenma toward the lab suspiciously. Tenma looked down at the early teenage robot and smiled sweetly at him. Astro smiled back nervously.

Astro:"What's going on?"

Tenma:"I am going to bring Toby back to life, but I may have to use parts of your skeleton to bring him back."

Astro's eyes went wide.

Astro:"Will this work? Will he need my core?"

Tenma:"I don't think Toby will need your core, anyway, would you like to look older? Become more advanced?"

Astro:"Sure! It definitely would confuse people if I stayed like this with Toby walking around!"

Tenma laughed a bit and shrugged.

Tenma:"I know son, but maybe now you can be Toby's older brother! I bet Toby would like an older sibling!"

Astro:"Okay, I guess it wont hurt, but what will my friends think of me?"

Tenma:"I'm sure they will recognize you. After all, you are a hero now!"

Astro:"True. Alright, let's get this over with!"

Tenma laid Toby down on one of the lab work benches, and set Astro down on another bench next to Toby. Tenma suddenly heard the lab doors open and looked behind him to see Dr. Elefun.

Tenma:"Hello, Dr. Elefun!"

Elefun:"Tenma? what are you doing he-!"

Elefun noticed Toby and Astro lying on the work benches with wide eyes.

Tenma:"I'm bringing Toby back to life! Isn't this amazing?!?"

Elefun:"This is a bit wrong, Tenma!"

Tenma:"It isn't wrong if it's bringing someone back!"

Elefun sighed and walked up to the table where Astro is lying on. He looked down at the robot and noticed his core glowing. He took the core out and put it in a safe container while he worked on redesigning Astro and helping Tenma put the old robot skeleton in Toby's body. The whole process lasted a little more than a week. Elefun gazed at Astro's new body and put the core into his chest. He watched as the now late teenage robot boy slowly sat up and opened his eyes.

Astro looked down at his hands and almost gasped. Elefun looked into Astro's chocolate brown eyes.

Elefun:"How are you feeling?"

Astro:" I feel... different! I SOUND different! Did it work?"

Elefun:"Of course! See for yourself!"

Elefun gave Astro a small handheld mirror with a joyful grin on his face. Once Astro took the mirror, he jumped back a bit. He stared at his reflection in the mirror. He ran his fingers through his hair, the soft silky artificial hairs gently moving. Astro looked back up at the mirror and saw that his face had more detail to it. Chocolate brown eyes, messy black hair that can now be styled however he wished, an older look to him completely. More artificial muscles in his whole body, his face now had a more manly look, but he still kept the "boyish" look to him. If anyone would guess his age, they would say he looked around 17 at this point, but he liked it this way.

Astro:"Woah! This is so cool! I look older now, as if I aged a few years!"

Elefun:"I'm guessing you want to see your friends?"

Astro:"My friends! I need to see them! You're right!"

Astro gasped and put his hands on his head as if he just remembered something. Elefun stepped closer and put a hand on his shoulder hoping to comfort him. Astro looked up at the scientist.

Astro:"And what about Toby?"

Elefun:"Toby is just about finished, he should be awake by now!"

Astro turned his head toward where Tenma was and saw Toby in Tenma's arms, they were both hugging. Astro smiled at the sight, then turned back toward Elefun.

Astro:"Tell dad and Toby that I went to see my friends."

Tenma:"Where are you going?"

Astro:"I am going to see my friend Cora. I will be back by ten tonight!"

Tenma:"Alright, be safe. Toby and I are going to spend some time together."

Astro:"Alright, be back later!"

Astro ran out of the lab and flew out of a nearby open window. As he flew, he headed toward Hamegg's orphanage. Astro got closer to the building and realized Cora and the gand were heading toward the scrap heap. Maybe they are out looking for more robot parts for Hamegg?


	2. 2 The Makeover

Astro flew closer to the kids and waved once Cora saw him. All the kids looked startled at first, then they calm down, knowing that Astro is the only robot that can fly. He landed on the ground when he got closer to the children. Cora was the first one he saw out of the group of children huddled in front of him.

Astro:"Hey, Cora!"

Cora looked at him like he had two heads, then she took a closer look at him and almost smiled a bit.

Cora:"Astro? Is that you?"

Astro:"The one and only!"

Astro put his arms out to the side to show her his new look. Cora studied his new appearance. He no longer looked like the robot kid she once knew, he looked like he grew up... in a way. She loved his new body, his face, his EVERYTHING. Cora looked back up at his big but calm and peaceful brown eyes. "It IS you!" She jumped up and landed in Astro's artificial muscular arms. Astro hugged her and spun around a bit before putting her back down.

Cora:"How did you get this way?"

Astro:"Well, it's a long story, but to shorten it, I brought someone back by letting my father Doctor Tenma take my old robotic skeleton and put it in Toby's body so he can live."

Cora:"Then I'm guessing he built you to make you look this way?"

Astro:"Well, yeah. Pretty much, and now here I am!"

Cora:"Who is Toby and Doctor Tenma?"

Astro:"I will explain everything to you sometime later. Is that okay?"

Cora:"Fine, but you have a lot of explaining to do!"

They both giggled a bit and the kids started to walk toward the scrap heap. Cora turned around before following them. "You coming with us?"

Astro:"Sure! where are you guys going?"

Cora:"To grab some robot parts for Hamegg."

Astro:"Does he still do the Robot Games?"

Cora sighed and looked down at the ground feeling a bit depressed but more annoyed at the fact that the answer is going to be hard to explain. "THAT'S a long story too!"

Astro:"You can tell me later if you want!"

Cora:"Sure, come on!"

Astro followed the kids to the scrap heap to look for more robot parts. After a few hours of gathering tons of old robots and parts, they all haul it back to Hamegg's building. When they got there, Widget stopped and looked at Astro's messy hair.

Widget:"Hmmmmm..."

Cora looked down at Widget, confused at what she was thinking about. " What are you thinking about?"

Widget:" Astro's hair... It's really messy. That's not his usual hair!"

Cora:"Your'e right! You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Wiget's eyes perked up and an eager smile grew on her face. "Makeover?" Cora smirked."Makeover!"

Astro looked at them both confused, but they grabbed both his arms and dragged him toward where the Metro City mall is. As the girls dragged him, he looked back to see the baffled Zane and Sludge staring at him being dragged away.

Astro:"We'll be back, I guess!"

Zane:"Okay! We will just let Hamegg know where you ran off to!"

Astro gave him a weak smile before Zane was out of his sight. Astro looked up at Cora with annoyance in his eyes. He started to whine a bit."Where are we going?!"

Cora:"Just the Metro City mall! Don't be such a baby!"

Astro moaned a bit in agony mixed with severe angst. "But I can flyyyyyy!"

Cora rolled her eyes. "Then fly! And maybe take us with you!"

Astro smirked and got up from the ground once the girls let go of his arms. He grabbed Cora and then Widget. Cora watched as his feet turned into fire as he hurled himself upward toward the sky. "Hang on tight, girls!" Cora quickly shut her eyes and held onto Astro and Widget as tightly as she could. It took about ten seconds for them to arrive at the Metro City Mall. Cora let go of Astro once they got to the entrance and stared at the gigantic luxurious building in awe. Widget looked up at the building as well and jumped up and down in excitement. "This place looks AWESOME!" Astro chuckled a bit. "It's Okay I guess!" Cora looked up at the teenage robot with surprise. "JUST okay?! You're CRAZY! This place looks huge!" Astro smiled a bit, trying to stay positive for the two girls, even though he was very annoyed at the fact that they are taking him to the Metro City Mall, where almost every teenager spent most of their free time. Cora was the first one to grab Astro by his arm and the three kids ended up inside the giant mall. Widget looked around at all the stores and the nicely dressed people while Cora looked around for a store that had clothes for teenage boys. She looked to her right and saw a decent looking store that had everything they needed to make Astro look more advanced and stylish. "This one! Follow me guys!" Cora grabbed Astro's arm again and held Widget's hand while they walked toward the store. An hour passed and they already got Astro ten different outfits. Two of the outfits were really fancy. One of them was a black tuxedo with a blue tie and black dress shoes. The other fancy outfit was not as fancy as the tuxedo, but it was still very stylish and made him look like a billion dollars. The rest of the outfits were either casual T shirts with jeans or sweatpants or Smart casual outfits.

After trying on and purchasing all the clothes with Cora and Widget, they all went back to Metro City. Cora and Widget stayed at the outskirts of the city while Astro flew back to the penthouse to put away all his new stuff and headed back. Astro walked back to where the two girls are and they all went back to Hamegg's place to style his hair. As soon as they all got back, Cora sat Astro down in a chair. Astro looked up at Cora with pleading eyes. "Please don't mess up my hair!" Cora rolled her eyes and sighed. "I'm not gonna mess up your hair! I mean, look at Widget! I'm the one who styled her hair into two buns!" Astro closed his eyes gently. "Alright, I'm sorry. Go ahead and do my hair!"

Cora:"Gladly!"

Cora grabbed some scissors nearby on a table and trimmed Astro's hair a bit on the sides of his head and in the back. Widget ran upstairs to grab some hair gel and ran back with it. Cora took a little bit at a time and styled Astro's hair to his usual two spikes. When Cora finished his hair, she stepped back and gasped a bit. All the other kids joined in and stared at Astro with looks of shock and awe. Astro opened his eyes and looked at everyone confused. "What's going on? Why are you all staring at me like that?" Cora snaps out of it and spoke up. "You, just look, REALLY cool and amazing!" Astro smiled a bit. "I'm guessing you did a good job with my look?" Cora nodded and handed him a handheld mirror. Astro looked into it and gasped as well. he lightly touched his hair and turned back toward Cora."This is amazing! Thanks Cora!" Cora began to blush slightly. "I-it was no problem!" Astro got up from his chair and hugged her. She blushed even redder and wrapped her arms around him and smiled.


	3. 3 The Glamour Girl

The same night, Astro went back to the penthouse on Metro City. When he walked in, he said goodnight to his father and his brother Toby before going to bed. He woke up the next morning. The first thing he did was get dressed in a black T shirt with bright blue stripes with black jeans then he walked down the hall. Toby ran up to him and waved. "Hi Astro, I'm Toby, you're my older brother now?" Astro looked down at the boy and smiled. "Yeah! Nice to meet you! I'm your older brother!" Toby tilted his head to the side. "Where are you going?" Astro looked a bit nervous at first, then he finally spoke up. "I'm going to go see my friends! You can join me if you want."

Toby:"I would, but dad wants to spend another day with me, he says there is a lot to tell me about what happened while I was gone!"

Astro:" Alright, I'll be back later!"

Toby:"See ya!"

Astro ran off from the penthouse toward the surface where Cora and the kids are. Cora was the first one to see him land on the ground."Took you long enough to get here!" She crossed her arms and smirked. Astro smiled nervously and shrugged. "You wanted me to come earlier?" Cora sighed in annoyance. "I was joking! I'm guessing you can't sense sarcasm?" Astro smiled. "Oh, you and your sarcasm! Someday you are gonna be known for it!" Zane suddenly stepped up. "Are we gonna find more parts for Hamegg, or are we gonna watch you two flirt with each other?!" Cora and Astro both turned red and look away from each other. "Yeah, we should get moving!" All the kids walked toward the scrap heap for hours until they all got tired. They all walked toward the orphanage with a few robot parts. As soon as they got back, Hamegg and the other kids were setting up for dinner. Cora looked around the room at everyone. "Are we late?" Hamegg looked up at Cora and smiled. "Of course not! You guys are just in time for dinner!" Cora turned to the rest of the group. Cora and Zane shrugged and they all sat at the table at once.

Hamegg:"Now, before we eat, how about a show? GRACE!"

Grace looked up at Hamegg with an angry expression. "WHAT do you want this time?!"

Hamegg:"The TV's please?"

Grace turned toward the televisions and turned them on with their remotes. Astro suddenly noticed colorful glitter raining down on one of the screens, suddenly, red curtains opened up to reveal a girl in a beautiful silver strapless evening gown with sparkles that shimmer in the colorful lights. The girl looked so beautiful with her long black and purple hair. Her hair being black at the roots, then a dark purple toward the middle of her hair. The purple getting lighter toward the ends of her hair. The ends of her hair reaching past her bottom. She had a curvy body and a large chest, but she still looked really young, probably around 17. She also had purple eyes and makeup along with very thick and glossy lips. He looked at the screen as if he had fallen in love with her. Her voice sounded majestic, almost like an angel, but there is another thing he noticed. She had doll joints! He looked at the mysterious girl singing and dancing on screen with wide eyes. She must be a robot if she is able to move around and have doll-like joints!

"You wanna know who that is?"

Astro looked up and to his left to see Hamegg smiling softly at him. "Who is it?"

Hamegg:"She used to be a puppet on a string back in the old days when there was no technology or robots."

Astro:"What's her name?"

Hamegg:"Her name is Marionette. Her creator couldn't find a name for her, so he chose Marionette to be her name, and it stuck with her ever since!" He smiled at the screen, watching her perform as well. Astro looked at the TV with curiosity in his eyes. "Wow! Marionette... sounds really pretty!" Hamegg sits back in his chair and smiles. "People of all ages loved her! She wore the most fashionable outfits, she became a cartoon, a doll, and eventually, she became an entertainment robot!"

Astro:"She sounds kinda like a celebrity!"

Hamegg:"Of course she was! She was the most famous robot of all time! Not even HUMAN celebrities could ever be a match for her! Her show and movies were always spectacular"

Astro:"Sounds interesting!"

He looked over toward where Cora was sitting and saw that she looked angry at him. She seemed really jealous that he was talking about a robot girl instead of talking about his day with Cora and the gang, but mostly her. Astro looked away nervously and looked back at Hamegg. "Does her show still air?" Hamegg looked at the robot teenager and sighed slightly. "Yes, I know where her studio is, but honestly, about 50 years ago, her show was cancelled and Marionette was never seen again! No one knows what happened to her! I don't know why she is back on TV all of a sudden!" Astro looked at him with wide eyes. "Why? What happened?" Everyone had already finished their meals and left the table right after his question. All the kids go upstairs, but Astro still had questions about the robotic puppet girl on TV. Hamegg walked away as if he didn't want to talk about her anymore and looked bored and tired from his long day of working on robots. Astro suddenly saw Cora charging after him with an angry face. "Oh, hey Co-" Cora grabbed his shirt and dragged him out of the building and stopped right next to the old hover van.

Astro:"Hey! What was tat about?!"

Cora:"Oh, Don't play stupid with me! I know EXACTLY what you are doing!"

Astro:"Listen, I know you like me, but...I don't know. You're a human and i'm a robot!"

Cora looked down in shame, knowing that he said the truth. She finally spoke up after what seemed like an hour. "So? Does it matter? I really like you... You always make me smile and when I hugged you after the whole Peacekeeper thing, I really felt something..."

Astro sighed and looked back up at her. "Alright. We will have one date JUST to see how it goes! Deal?" Cora smiled in delight. "Deal!" They hug again before he looked back at her. "Besides, I have never even MET this "Marionette" girl. For all I know, she could be programmed to be a stuck up diva!" Cora giggled. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Astro:"See you at our date!" He was about to fly off into the night before she called out to him. "And don't be late!" Astro smirked and flew upward into the sky. Cora watched him with a star struck smile on her face.


	4. 4 The Date

The next night, Astro was about to get ready for his first date with Cora. He put on a nice black dress shirt with dark blue dress pants, black dress shoes and a dark blue suit jacket. He checked himself out in the mirror and gave himself a satisfied smile before his shoes disappeared into his legs, his feet were replaced with rockets and Astro flew out of his bedroom window.

Astro flew through the city and looked around at his surroundings as he flew. He saw construction robots fixing the buildings, some robots cleaning the rubble from the Peacekeeper. he also saw some people walking around the few clean parts of the city. some couples holding hands, a mother holding her daughter's hand, a few small kids running around laughing and chasing each other playfully. Astro smiled a bit at the sight of the happy people walking around and the robots cleaning up after him and the Peacekeeper, although he did feel bad for leaving it to other robots to clean up his mess, but he shrugged it off, thinking to himself that he would make it up to them sometime.

Astro gracefully hovered toward the surface and got closer to where Cora was waiting for him. Their date was the place where they found ZOG. He looked down at all the flowers beginning to close for the night to bloom again when the sun came up the next morning. His rockets turned back to feet and he safely landed on the soft grass surrounded by colorful flowers and a couple of old tree logs nearby. He suddenly looked up and noticed Cora walking up to him with a shy smile.

Astro took one good look at her and noticed she was wearing an entirely different outfit. Her hair was a bit longer, just touching her shoulders, flipping outward to show that she clearly had her hair done. She was wearing an over the shoulder emerald green shirt, a dark grey pleated skirt and black leggings with grey designer ankle boots. As Cora got closer, Astro noticed she was also wearing makeup, not too much, just barely noticeable. He thought to himself that she was a tomboy, not some girly girl who wears makeup and tries to look pretty for some guy, let alone a robot like him. He smiled once she was right in front of him. Their eyes both locked together, he smiled. "Wow! You look great tonight!"

Cora looked away for a second, then back up at him and let out a slightly nervous laugh. "Thanks, and well, my mom insisted I wear a more fancier outfit so I can "remember the night easier"". She rolled her eyes at her mother's words that just escaped her mouth and rang in her head. "Anyways, you look nice as well Astro."

Astro shyly looked at Cora and sat on one of the logs and offered her a seat next to him. She obeyed and sat next to him on the log. Astro looked into her eyes and smiled a bit. "Thanks! The moon is beautiful tonight, Just like your eyes!" Cora's face immediately went red and she smiled at first, but then she looked away awkwardly and bit her lip nervously. Astro looked at her a bit worried. "Are you okay Cora?" Cora perked her head up quickly and smiled at him. "Of course! It's just that, I never had a boyfriend before and no one ever said my eyes are like the moon!" Astro laughed a bit. "Does this mean you don't like my compliments?"

Cora:"No. It's not that! I-"

Astro:"I'm kidding! Anyways, how come I always see you at Hamegg's instead of with your parents?"

Cora froze, she knew he was going to ask this question. She then put her head back up and looked back up at Astro casually as if she was going to say something sarcastic. "What! I can't hang out with my friends? I may be reunited with my parents, but back at Hamegg's place, these kids are still my family as well!"

Astro:" Okay, I get it. I'm sorry if I upset you or anything, I was just-"

Cora:"I know what you meant. Don't worry, I spend time with my parents too, my mother mostly lately because she always wants to take me to the mall to get new clothes and stuff."

Astro nodded and pulled her closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder as they both watched the starts form in the sky. Astro suddenly looked down at Cora and leaned his face closer to hers. He slowly closed his eyes and she did the same for him. their faces got closer and closer, until Cora froze and shook her head. Astro opened his eyes slowly and looked at her worried. "What's wrong, Cora?"

Cora:"I don't knooow! This feels wrong for some reason! I feel like this whole thing feels rushed or something!"

Astro sighed and nodded a bit. "I understand. Do you wanna go back to being good friends and forget this ever happened?"

Cora:"Yes, please! I'm sorry!"

Astro:" I get it. I'll walk you home and I'll leave after that. We can hang out tomorrow."

Cora:"Thanks, Astro!"

Astro:"You're welcome!"

Astro walked with her toward her house, passing through parts of Metro City. They both noticed the construction robots almost finished cleaning up the rest of the Peacekeeper's remains before moving on to the other buildings that needed fixing. They both pass the Ministry of Science building and head to Cora's penthouse. Once they got there, Astro waited for the signal that she is inside. From the seventeenth floor, Astro could see Cora's hand out the window and he headed to his own penthouse.

The next morning, Astro headed to hamegg's place to hang out with Cora and the gang. He suddenly saw Cora already there and she waved at him. He waved back and headed toward the group. He looked down at Cora. "Hey Cora! Where are you guys going?"

Cora:"We are just looking for some robot parts so Hamegg can work on some big project he said he is working on."

Astro:" What is the project?"

Cora:"He said something about a robot circus."

Astro:"What happened to the Robot Games?"

Cora:"Well, Long story short after you left, Hamegg was banned from having robots fight to the death, so he told me that if he can't have robots fight, he may as well have them perform. Kinda stupid, but he says it will be harmless, so I guess he can make a circus as long as he doesn't hurt anymore robots."

Astro:"What will happen if he hurts more robots?"

Cora:"All the children will be forced to leave the building and go to an orphanage in Metro City. The cops say that if he is a danger to robots, he might be a danger to humans too. I doubt he will ever be, but I will keep an eye on him, just to be sure!"

Astro:"Good! And I will help you."

Cora:"Thanks Astro!"

Astro:"You're welcome! After all, you guys are my closest friends!"

Cora smiled and looked at the twins and watched them run around and tease each other.

Astro:"Wanna split up? You guys can look for parts on one section, and I can look in another section?"

Cora:"Sure, just don't go too far!"

Astro:" Okay! See ya!" He ran toward another section of the scrap heap to look for some robot parts.


	5. 5 Lights! Camera! Glamour!

Astro searched through a big section of the scrap heap, but he couldn't find anything. He continued to walk around, passing by the R.R.F. "secret" hideout. Astro wandered aimlessly, thinking about the circus and then Cora...

THUD! He suddenly walked right into an old rusty gate that was chained together and sealed with a big padlock that was clearly old and rusted. Astro rubbed his head slightly and examined the gate and tall walls that surrounded a few buildings. He looked at the walls and noticed a lot of words spray painted on them. Astro read some of the words...

" **EVIL!** "

" **INFAMOUS** "

" **RUN AWAY!** "

What caught his eye the most was the biggest building inside those walls. He curiously flew right over the gate and entered the strange place. He looked around and noticed a few old cameras, a red carpet acting as a pathway that went from one building to another, some old light stands with the light bulbs still attached. He also noticed some fake tree props leaning against one of the smaller buildings. He walked closer to the big building in the center and noticed there were multiple signs on the two doors. He looked down at the handles and noticed they were not only rusty like all the doors and visible metal, but there were more chains and locks sealing the doors. Astro looked up and read the signs.

 **"WARNING!"**

 **"DANGER!"**

 **"DO NOT ENTER!"**

 **"UNSTABLE ROBOT!"**

Astro gasped at the signs, and he silently talked to himself. "What happened here?" He used his X-Ray vision and looked inside to see if there was any actual danger, but all he could see were old movie cameras, props, some doors, one of them had a shiny Metal star on it. He also saw lots of lights. Spotlights, strobe lights, neon lights, laser lights, fog machines, bubble machines, speakers, makeup tables, anything that could be in a movie studio. He shrugged, not seeing any danger and used a laser in his finger to get the lock and chains off so he could enter. He walked in and looked around at all the equipment around him in amazement, then Astro suddenly heard a distant slightly high pitched female voice. "LIGHTS!"

All the multicolored lights turned on and the fog and bubble machines activated as well. Astro giggled a bit and touched a nearby bubble, causing it to pop, then he spoke up. "Hello? Who's there?"

Voice:"Ah, well if it isn't the famous Astro Boy!"

Astro:"Wha-? Who are you? And how do you know my name?"

Voice:"You don't know me either, Or do you?"

Astro suddenly looked up and noticed a catwalk hanging above the stages. He looked closer and noticed a figure in the darkness above the multicolored lights. He saw half the figure's hair glowing a bright shade of purple, along with her glowing purple eyes. He couldn't see the rest of the figure, but he could definitely see parts of it's hair and eyes.

Voice:"You can see me... slightly! Do you know me now?"

Astro:"I don- Wait! Are you the Marionette girl I saw on TV the other day?"

Voice:"Correct! I didn't know you would guess my name so fast!"

The figure jumped from the catwalk and landed right in front of him, brushed her side bangs out of her face and looked up into his chocolate brown eyes. He looked back down at her in shock. He gazed at her beauty in the lights for what felt like forever, until she spoke up. "Hi! Nice to meet you! I am Marionette, the first ever robot celebrit-"

Astro saw her chest glowing purple, then he looked down at his chest and saw it was glowing blue. He looked back up at her. She still had her hand out, but she looked at him worried. He looked back at her with the same slight fear.

Astro:"Is that a core?"

Marionette gasped. "For a superhero, you seem to be a real gentleman!" She began to glare at him a bit and put her hands on her hips.

Astro:"I'm sorry! But I need to know!"

Marionette:"And why is that?"

Astro:"Because!"

Astro lifted his shirt, exposing his stomach and glowing chest and he pressed his chest plate to show her his glowing blue core. Marionette gazed at the core's blue beauty, staring at the shades of blue energy swirling around in his chest. She looked back up into his eyes as if she was daydreaming. "Nice abs!" Astro looked back down at her and chuckled a bit as he closed his chest plate and put his shirt back down. "Thanks!"

Marionette:"Now, You've showed me yours, time to show you mine!"

She winked at him and pressed her chest plate. He looked both confused and amazed when he saw the blue and red energy swirling around inside her chest.

Astro:"How?"

Marionette:"How what?"

She closed her chest plate and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Astro:"How did you get a core like that? I thought there were only two!"

Marionette:"I don't know, really! All I know is that they come from a star, or was it a comet? I forget!"

She giggled a bit, but Astro did not seem too happy. He stood there for a moment, thinking to himself until he had an idea.

Astro:"Would you like to come with me? We can hang out and I can give you a place to stay!"

Marionette froze. She looked down at the ground and sighed. "I knew you were going to ask me that. You see, I have only been outside this studio once, but that was only to walk on the red carpet and have my photo taken." She giggled a bit. "I guess I'm a bit afraid of being outside. After all, this has been my home for at least decades!"

Astro:"You don't have to, if you don't want to. But I do need to bring you to the Ministry though!"

Marionette:"Why would I need to go to a Ministry?"

Astro:"There is a lab where my dad works, I need to show him your core."

Marionette:"Are you gonna hurt me?"

Astro:"No, it's not that. We need to examine it to be sure it's not unstable."

Marionette:"Okay, I trust you!"

Astro:"I can fly us there if you want!"

Marionette gasped. "YOU CAN FLY?!"

Astro nodded and reached out a hand to her. Marionette grabbed it and they both left the building. Marionette watched her studio fade from her sight as she was being lifted into the clouds above. She looked around her in awe as she saw the clouds and the sun. At first, Marionette was terrified when she found herself in the sky with Astro, but when she looked around and adjusted her eyes, she felt happy that she was out of her prison. She reached out and touched a cloud. The feeling of the fluffiness of it amazed her. Marionette looked up at Astro's eyes and smiled. He looked back at her and returned a smile to her. Astro soon hovered toward the Ministry and landed safely on the ground with Marionette still in his arms.


End file.
